Tempered by T S Paul

Author:T S Paul [Paul, T S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Great God Pan Publishing, Inc
Published: 2019-12-22T16:00:00+00:00

Trouble

“Does everyone understand the recipes now?” I asked the kitchen staff. Breakfast shift was in full swing and those members of the crew who were off duty were diving into it. Normally on a ship like this there were multiple facilities, and more than three shifts on duty. It depended on what the mission was.

Because of the tests the Washington was running, BuShips had cut the personnel by more than half. More like down to a third if Chef Johnson’s figures were correct. Easier for us, but harder for the ship’s company in general. The admiral did explain it to me before I was assigned here. It was a trial period for the Washington. Taking more than a year to complete, the construction crews replaced the engines, most of the weapon systems, and life support. But glitches happen. There was always the chance of gremlins in the system that could kill the crew. Better to space with a fraction of a crew than take a chance on a whole one. Or that was at least the theory.

Getting everyone on the same page in the kitchen was actually easier than normal, due to the competence of the cooks. Many of them had more world experience than I was used to. Only the best for one of the three flagships of the fleet. It gave me something to look forward to at the end of my deployments. If all the side jobs for Admiral Hawthorne didn’t kill me, I could just transfer to one ship. Wouldn’t that make the admiralty spin? Those old fogeys in charge of the Navy were still a bit pissed they couldn’t have me take a stroll outside in space sans suit. Too fucking bad if they can’t take a joke. Special Operations ruled!

“Ok Chef Johnson, what now? I’ve got an entire box full of knives and shit we can award your guys with, or we can dig into the spices. We’ve still got to plan dinners for when the admiral comes aboard, you know,” I mentioned. It was true, too. The Confed Navy was a tiered system. Grand Admiral at the top, three Fleet Admirals below him, followed by about a dozen or so Admirals, and finally another dozen Vice Admirals. Commodore then captain, commander, lieutenant, ensign, and regular sailor made up the rest. The marines were a whole different animal, using primarily army ranks. On board a ship there could be only one captain, so most marine commanders were either colonels or majors. Admiral Hawthorne at BuShips was just a plain admiral, even though he was in charge of all naval personnel.

The chef shrugged his shoulder at me. “Evaluations? I’ve got a few ideas for welcoming Admiral Horton to the ship. This will be his first rotation with us. Do you know the man?”

With a forced smile I nodded back. Horton. Delightful. He was one of the biggest naysayers to my transferring to BuShips. You kill your boss one time and the whole world is against you.

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